《冰與火之歌：權力遊戲》業餘字幕與職業字幕比較

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(1)A Comparison of Chinese Prosubs and Fansubs in the Show Game of Thrones. A Thesis Presented to Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation National Taiwan Normal University. In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. By Marc Neely 指導教授：賴慈芸 Advisor: Sharon Lai, PhD Taipei, Taiwan August 2020.

(2) 《冰與火之歌：權力遊戲》業餘字幕與職業字幕比較摘要本文分析電視頻道 HBO 美劇《冰與火之歌:權力遊戲》第八季之不同翻譯來源的中文字幕成效: 專業字幕及業餘字幕之比較。大部分的相關研究都分析原著的中文翻譯，分析電視劇的字幕目前是付之闕如。此外，關於業餘字幕品質的研究也不多，也沒有跟職業字幕比較。探討業餘團隊之中文翻譯字幕的重要價值在於了解其翻譯品質是否有等同或高出職業翻譯字幕團隊，甚而威脅到職業團隊之工作保障。本文利用《冰與火之歌:權力遊戲》第八季之二組職業中文翻譯字幕與四組綜合代表性的業餘中文翻譯字幕做相較討論, 進而深入了解雙邊之品質及成效。. 業餘字幕組、職業字幕組、冰與火之歌、喬治·雷蒙德·理查德·馬丁、HBO、定性研究. i.

(3) A Comparison of Chinese Prosubs and Fansubs in the Show Game of Thrones. Abstract This paper compares the success of Chinese professional subtitles and amateur subtitles in the eighth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones. Most research has been focused on the translations of the fantasy novel series by George R.R. Martin, with essentially no literature on the subtitles of the show. Research on the topic of amateur translation groups is also sparse, with the majority of research focusing on the role of fansubs in the social context rather than the quality of fansubs. Investigating these fansubs is worthwhile as professional translators must be aware of the impact that higher-quality fansubs could have on the translation subtitling profession. Six sources of Chinese subtitles were compared to provide a comprehensive representation of the quality of professional subtitling and amateur subtitling audiovisual products. The translation strategies of four fansub sources were compared against two prosubs sources.. fansubs, prosubs, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, HBO, qualitative study. ii.

(4) Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge everyone who played a role in my academic accomplishments beginning with my academic advisor Professor Lai, who offered guidance whenever possible and for spotting the shortcomings of my thesis when I was unable to see them. I must also thank Professor Hu and Professor Tsai for providing much-needed advice on how to polish my thesis into a piece of academic literature. I feel obligated to thank my classmate Miao as she was the one who suggested the idea for my thesis after I had wasted several months musing over bland research topics. Lastly, I offer an immense amount of gratitude to my girlfriend who supported me throughout the research and writing process and even provided valuable insight to confirm or disprove my suppositions.. iii.

(5) Table of Contents 摘要………………………………………………………………………………………….i. Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………..ii Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………….....iii Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………..iv Chapter One Introduction ………...……...………………………………………….……1 1.1 Fansubs……………………………………………………………………..…...2 1.2 Research Method……………………………………………………………….9 1.3..Structure of the Thesis………………………………………………………..10 Chapter Two Literature Review……..…………………………………………………...11 2.1 Lit on Prosubs………………………………………………………………….11 2.2 Lit on Fansubs…………………………………………………………………14 Chapter Three Game of Thrones in Taiwan and China…………………………...…....20 3.1 Author, Novel and Drama.………………..………………………………......20 3.2 GoT Synopsis…………………………………………………………………..21 3.3 Game of Thrones in Taiwan…...………………….…………………………..26 3.4 Game of Thrones in China……………………………………………………27 Chapter Four Translationese or English-influenced Chinese….…………………...….29 4.1 Semantic Translationese………………………………………………………29 4.2 Syntactic Translationese………………………………………………………40 4.3 Evaluation of Translationese………………………………………………….46 Chapter Five Diction Discrepancies.…………………….....…………………………..…49 5.1 Varying Levels of Diction Discrepancies…………………………………….49 5.2 Improper Diction that Distorts the ST………..……………………………...63 5.3 Evaluation of Diction………………………………………………………….80 iv.

(6) Chapter Six Management of Vulgar Language..……………………………………….82 6.1 Watering Down Vulgar Language in the ST…………………..…………….82 6.2 Overestimating the Importance of Vulgar Language ……………...……....98 6.3 Evaluation of Vulgar Language Management……………………………...104 Chapter Seven Conclusion……………………………………………………………….106 Bibliography………………………………………………………………....…................108. v.

(7) Chapter One Introduction Traditionally, before the mid-1980s, all subtitling was done by paid professionals. Being paid for their translations clearly meant that they were expected to meet a certain standard, follow a mold, and achieve the requirements of their employers. The subtitling norm is to remain in the background, what Lawrence Venuti would call the “invisible translator.” A subtitler is a semi-transparent figure who allows the content of what is being viewed to come to the forefront. It’s akin to those plays where items are moved around on stage by staff dressed all in black as to blend into a black background. The audience members are aware of their existence but choose to ignore them. The bad translator would be the staff member juggling items as they move across the stage. Also, traditionally, constraints were placed on the number of English words or Chinese characters fitting in one line, and how many lines show up on the screen at the same time. That was the past, subtitling has evolved, and a new monster had risen from the muck, rearing its intercontinental, ever-expanding head with a howl— “I am Fansub, hear me roar!” This alternative form of translation enjoys the benefits of unfettered liberty that pro bono work grants, allowing norms to be broken, reformed, and forever expanded on. However, its freedom also comes at a cost to professionalism, not to mention the lack of translation training invariably means the quality of subtitles remains inconsistent. Even if one fansubtitler masterfully produces a novel experience with their translation technique, the next fansubber might produce inferior subtitles. That being said, it is still important for those involved in the translation field to be aware of the quality of fansubs, as the better fansubs become, the more they will impact professional subtitle translators.. 1.

(8) 1.1 Fansubs Fansubbing is not a particularly new phenomenon. Fansubs trace back to the 1980s when fans of Japanese Animation, wanting to share the joy of anime with other fans, took it upon themselves to translate the Japanese subtitles into other languages. At the time, the main audiovisual medium was none other than the VHS cassette. This very unsophisticated technology limited the functionality of fansubs as these translators were able to imprint only one language onto one cassette; additional subtitles would have taken up too much space on the screen (imagine having Hindi, Mandarin, Russian, Farsi, French, and Spanish all vying for screen space). With the advent of the DVD, fansubs became much more functional as the viewer could decide which language they wanted the subtitles to be displayed in. Now with streaming websites, the utility of fansubs has only increased even more. Especially when it comes to speed of delivery: just hours after a show is broadcast on TV, a rough version is likely to be available on streaming sites, with a more polished version appearing shortly after that. Fansubbing has also changed the activity of subtitling. As the portmanteau suggests, fansubs are audiovisual subtitles translated by fans. Xioachun Zhang defines fansubbing as “…the process by which fans translate and subtitle various types of audiovisual material into a language other than that of the original” (2013, p. 30). In this context, fans are enthusiasts, engaged in the act of translation as a labor of love. They are motivated by non-financial reasons, such as language learning or cultural awareness. The very nature of fansubbing is illegal, which puts those involved in the effort in a very precarious situation and consequently must work anonymously. There exist two main types of fansubs: the first one is the “rough version,” produced with an emphasis on speed, and the second one, the “refined edition,” produced with an emphasis on accuracy (Ibid, p. 32).. 2.

(9) Most of the people who are willing to engage in the time-consuming effort of translation without monetary gain are bilingual “undergraduate students, and there is also a large proportion of postgraduate students. They are from many different universities in China and around the world, and study all kinds of subjects” (Ibid, p. 30). Though most fansubbers are college students, other fansubbers do not fall so nicely into this category. For example, “Ding Chengtai, who is famous for translating 24 Hours, is a vegetable vendor” (Ibid, p. 30). Rarely do fansubbers work completely independently but rather as part of a group. One of the most famous groups 人人影視 (YYeTs), which provides “bilingual subtitles for American, Japanese and Korean movies and TV dramas, noted that there are more than 1,000 members in this group [with] most members aging between “23 and 28, and the gender ratio is roughly equal” (Ibid, p. 30). Fansubbers know when they sign up for the task, that it will be very time-consuming and will not be getting paid, “yet fansubbing has ‘turned into a mass social phenomenon on the internet” (Ibid, p. 31). It begs the question—why do it? Often fansubbers hope to better understand the source language culture or to improve their foreign language ability. Watching shows, after all, is a very good way of acquiring slang that is not regularly a part of a second language curriculum. No matter how good one’s language ability is, their understanding will always be limited by their cultural understanding. “Increasing numbers of people have been working for international companies or Chinese-foreign joint ventures where foreign language skills and sound cultural understanding are required” (Ibid, p. 32). Fansubbers understand limited cultural knowledge will handicap them in the workplace and that engaging in fansubbing will make them understand their target culture on a deeper level. Another reason they are willing to fansub is that “Chinese fansubbers believe that they are shouldering the responsibility of promoting cultural communication between China and the world” (Ibid, p. 32). Essentially, they are acting as a cross-cultural bridge. Hu, Jingyu, a. 3.

(10) fansubber famous for translating Prison Break, expressed his “underlying motivation for fansubbing in the following terms: I love, so I share.” (Ibid, p. 32) For people like Hu, Jingyu, Fansubbing is a magnanimous undertaking. If we were to take the time he spent translating as a debt, he is paid back many times over by the number of people who were able to enjoy the show due to his labor. As is displayed on the homepage of ViKi, “translate to spread the love” (Dwyer, 2012, p. 218). Fansubbing is not limited to genre nor language; however, the bulk of fansubbers translate “movies, documentaries, TV dramas, music videos, variety shows, news reports, video clips, video games and software” (Zhang, 2013, p. 31). Now some groups are translating for more educational purposes such as YYETs has “transferred their focus from entertaining materials to educational programs such as university open courses” (Ibid, p. 31). The platform known as ViKi “incorporates media from a multitude of different countries and language communities, at times including such unlikely finds as Nepali underground band videos, celebrity interviews from Lebanon, Irish cooking shows, and US speeches on the environment” (Dwyer, 2012, p. 220). “The most common source languages are English, Japanese and Korean,” and less often but still translated source languages are “French, German, Spanish and Thai” (Zhang, 2013, p. 31). Traditionally, subtitles are supposed to be placed at the bottom of the screen and displayed in white. Subtitles should be “limited to 15 Chinese characters per line and only one line is shown at any one time. Fansubtitles, especially the ones simultaneously displaying two languages, can have two to four lines and more than 15 Chinese characters per line” (Ibid, p. 33). Fansubbers have broken the mold and sometimes place the subtitles in different areas on the screen and employ different fonts. Occasionally fansubbers will even color-code subtitles for different reasons. It is a principle called “speaker-color association.” The term refers to “a convention in subtitling for. 4.

(11) the hard of hearing in order to denote each of the characters taking part in the interaction or to identify other changes in the use of language, such as dialect shifts” (Wu, 2015, p. 8). Fansubbers are by and far “target-text oriented: and translators notes and glosses are used to explain certain cultural reference points” (Zhang, 2013, p. 33). Fansubbing groups sometimes put out two different versions of the same text—“a normal version and a Tu Cao (吐槽) version” (ibid p. 33). (explain tu cao in english) Even the Tu Cao version can be broken into two types. In the first type, the translators often leave their own notes and glosses. They will comment on the events of the show, such as, “It is too difficult to understand the English while she is sobbing. I gave up,” or “I was scared to death when I was translating this part” (Ibid, p. 34). This clearly goes against traditional norms of translation that place the translator as a hidden figure or an objective observer at most. The nature of Chinese characters is very concise and physically demands less space than European languages, so it makes these kinds of comments possible. The second kind of Tu Cao comments on current events. For example, something impossible could be likened to the Chinese men’s soccer team winning the World Cup. Some groups, such as ViKi, have modeled their platform after Wikipedia, which as everyone knows is a peer-reviewed online encyclopedia, where members are allowed to edit content of their own volition. This means that the members of ViKi are constantly improving on the original version. It is possible that when you watch a show subtitled by ViKi, that it has already gone countless “updates.” Their software is much like a google drive document that works in real-time with multiple users editing the document at the same time. “These entries are edited and re-edited on the fly, wiki-style, with those judged by the community to be most accurate getting prime display below the letter box of the video player” (Dwyer, 2012, p. 222). Due to the nature of a wiki-style platform, many amateur subtitlers will be involved in the process; “up to 500 people can be involved in producing fansubs for just one. 5.

(12) episode of a television series” (Ibid, p. 218). With so many people working on the same project, one might wonder what the overall quality of fansubs has been. It is very difficult to objectively affirm the quality of fansubs. To most viewers in China, the professionally dubbed versions were too formal often sounding like “poetry recitation,” whereas fansubbers used the vernacular of the people, making the viewing experience all the more palpable (Zhang, 2013, p. 34). Fansubbers have also used more creative methods to address more sensitive topics such as “sex.” Some people, however, criticize fansubs, especially the Tu Cao version for being obscene and lacking boundaries— poking fun of everything and treating nothing as sacred. That being said, Chinese viewers can find the official versions as well, so it is just another option. Often when we talk about early fansubs, shows such as Sex and the City (1998) come to mind. These fan translators made abhorrent translation errors or were lacking in solidarity with other translators, so naturally, the quality suffered. For example, often a character’s name would change from one episode to the next. The inconsistency in the show proves that this particular group had not solidified a standard and lacked a sense of community. A few years later, the fansubs of the show Gossip Girl (2007) improved by quite a margin. Now, though, some fansubbing groups still produce inferior quality subtitles, other groups such as YYeTs have managed to reach a level that is as good if not better on occasion than prosubs. Fansubbing groups are not companies and therefore rarely provide anything like an official web page. At most, they will create a twitter page where fans can see recently translated audiovisual products and or message the group. Almost all groups are constantly recruiting new talent. The only group included in this paper that has an about section is FIX 字幕俠. FIX 字幕俠 was founded in 2015. In the about section of their official website, they offer details about their work ethic. They provide subtitling for American TV shows, Korean. 6.

(13) movies, German movies and TV shows, Japanese movies and TV shows, and French movies and TV shows. The name FIX is an acronym for Five Idea Xs, which indicates the five founders behind the fansubbing platform. The name of course also suggests that the group is fixing something, as in making fansubbing better. The group is split into five different communities, with each community representing a translated language. The spirit of the group is one of learning through practice, and their translation code is that of most professional translators: fidelity, accuracy and elegance,「信, 達, 雅」(FIX the Sub-Man). They claim to refrain from wantonly adding personal opinions or feelings to their translations. All FIX the Sub-Man sources were retrieved from meijutw.com1. Most fansubbing groups only provide space for fans to chat and/or volunteer. The opening credits of fansubbed audiovisual products sometimes show which fansubbing group was responsible for the translation, the names of the fansubbers are never revealed; at most they will provide a nickname. This means that despite a group being stationed in one country, the translator/s could, in reality, be of any nationality. The only requirement, of course, is a high-grasp of both Chinese and English. One main group that every study on Chinesesubtitled fansubs will invariably bring up is YYeTs (人人影視). They do not provide an official web page but there is a significant volume of literature on the fansubbing group, which was founded in 2003 by a Chinese-Canadian. They have gained so much notoriety that large organizations have asked to work with them. YYeTs has even been “contracted by the Internet technology company NetEase to translate a series of courses from Yale University” (Wang, 2017, p. 168). Some people, such as Dingkun Wang, have joined the group (though temporarily) and reported back on their operations. The first step is to recruit people in the. 1. FIX the Sub-Man links to Episode 1-6: (1) http://meijutw.com/player/1145_1.html#; (2) http://meijutw.com/player/1145_2.html#; (3) http://meijutw.com/player/1145_3.html#; (4) http://meijutw.com/player/1145_4.html#; (5) http://meijutw.com/player/1145_5.html#; (6) http://meijutw.com/player/1145_6.html#.. 7.

(14) USA or Canada to act as ‘Raw Providers’ to record television series and produce transcriptions of closed captions” (Ibid, p. 174). These volunteers have to acquire the software and hardware necessary to record shows that are broadcast on TV. The raw data is sent to other volunteers for translation or conversion. Once translation is complete, the rough copy is polished by editors. Lastly, the edited copy is passed to “time-coders who are responsible for spotting” (Ibid, p. 174). It is no wonder that the group has managed to maintain a higher level of professionalism. All YYeTs sources were retrieved from meiju11.com, jumibus.com, and 8maple.in2. Some groups are of a smaller scale and therefore remain a mystery. One such group is ShinY 深影字幕組. All information is essentially posted on their Twitter page. The group mostly translate western movies and TV Shows and have collaborated with YYeTs. They have translated popular audiovisual products such as We Bare Bears, Modern Family, and Young Sheldon. I found their subtitling to be one of the poorest of the fansubbing groups included in this paper. All ShinY sources were retrieved from gimy.online3. 遠鑒字幕組 or Visionary Sub is another group that provides less transparency for their operations, but state on their twitter page that they translate non-theatrical foreign films and TV shows. All Visionary Sub sources were retrieved from balatutu.com and meiju11.com4.. 2. YYeTs links to season 8 episodes 1-6: (1) https://www.meiju11.com/Play/1154-0-0.html; (2) https://www.meiju11.com/Play/1154-0-1.html; (3) https://www.jumibus.com/drama/201902/drama26_play_6.html; (4) https://www.jumibus.com/drama/2019-02/drama26_play_8.html; (5) https://www.jumibus.com/drama/2019-02/drama26_play_10.html; (6) https://8maple.in/26584183-10006000/. 3 ShinY links to season 8 episodes 1-6: (1) https://gimy.online/vodplay/22858-2-1.html; (2) https://gimy.online/vodplay/22858-2-2.html; (3) https://gimy.online/vodplay/22858-2-3.html; (4) https://gimy.online/vodplay/22858-2-5.html; (5) https://gimy.online/vodplay/22858-2-5.html; (6) https://gimy.online/vodplay/22858-2-6.html. 4. Visionary Sub links to season 8 episodes 1-6: (1) https://balatutu.com/play/yLEAJGxL-3-4M.html; (2) https://balatutu.com/play/yLEAJGxL-3-3k.html; (3) https://balatutu.com/play/yLEAJGxL-3-ze.html; (4) https://balatutu.com/play/yLEAJGxL-2-nl.html; (5) https://balatutu.com/play/yLEAJGxL-3-Wo.html; (6) https://www.meiju11.com/Play/1154-0-5.html.. 8.

(15) 1.2 Research Method This paper is a qualitative analysis of prosub and fansub translations of Game of Thrones. Therefore, it does not provide an exhaustive data set of all prosub nor fansub subtitles but rather includes only subtitles relevant to the research topic. All data acquired were typed by computer into tables in Microsoft Word. The TV subtitles were acquired by recording the eighth season of Game of Thrones on HBO Signature via external hard drive. The DVD subtitles were acquired from the official HBO DVD, and all fansub data were retrieved from various online video-streaming websites.. 9.

(16) 1.3 Structure of the Thesis This thesis will investigate the question: how has fansubbing come along with Game of Thrones as a case study? Do fansub groups practice a high level of fidelity and manage to avoid the amateur translator blunder of directly translating every word as if it were sacred? Are these groups more or less sensitive to the nuance of the ST compared with professional subtitle translators? To answer this question, my thesis will be structured as follows: Chapter Two offers a review of literature including research that has been done on prosubbing and fansubbing. Chapter Three will discuss Game of Thrones in Taiwan and China. It will also include a synopsis of GoT and a more detailed summary of the eighth season. Chapters Four, Five and Six contain the comparative analysis of Chinese prosubs and fansubs. Chapter Four will investigate translationese (or English-influenced Chinese) amongst prosub and fansub groups. Chapter Five will discuss the quality of both camps’ diction. Chapter Six will focus on how foul language was managed. Chapter Seven will summarize the findings of this paper and discuss limitations to this study and possible further research avenues.. 10.

(17) Chapter Two Literature Review 2.1 Lit on Prosubs Prosubs or professional subtitles are made by paid translators working for publishing companies or broadcasting agencies. They have possibly received some sort of training that could be acquired through an institution such as a graduate institute, though some professional subtitlers start working directly in the industry without orthodox training. “Their translation products are expected to be superior because they follow some specific guidelines and constraints in order to give audiences the best experience of viewing foreign dramas, movies, and anime” (Wu, 2015, p. 5). They are driven by one overall goal: “The general practice of the production and layout of TV subtitles should be guided by the aim to provide maximum appreciation and comprehension of the target film as a whole by maximizing the legibility and readability of the inserted subtitled text” (Karamitroglou, 1990). Placing more importance on the target text, professional translators will omit, replace, and add to make the translated product readily accessible by the target audience. There exists in the subtitling field some unspoken rules, but some have gone as far as to provide prescriptive methods on how professional subtitling ought to be approached. One such figure is Karamitroglou, a Greek scholar, who wrote a treatise on the normative rules followed by professional subtitlers. It is, in essence, the Strunk and White’s Element of Style (which some writers revere as a creative writing bible) for subtitlers. His first point emphasizes the profession’s ultimate goal, which is to maximize the audience’s viewing pleasure and to transcribe the meaning of the original content in an easy, accessible way. Lawrence Venuti would argue that these professional translating norms are highly domesticating. Most professional subtitlers, who are working in a commercial industry and catering to a general audience rather than an academic one, will naturally apply a fairly domesticating strategy. This runs in contrast to quite a lot of traditional fansubbing as the nature. 11.

(18) of being a fan is to place more emphasis on the original text and therefore would apply a foreignizing effect. Karamitroglou’s treatise dictates very specific rules regarding layout, such as subtitles ought to appear “at least 1/12 of the total screen height above the bottom of the screen.” This placement of subtitles moves them out of the way so that they are not blocking the action on the screen. He then argues that no more than two lines should appear at the same time, and approximately 35 characters should appear in one line. His third point dictates how long the subtitles are to remain on the screen, which he calls “temporal parameter.” According to the average reading speed, it takes about 3 ½ seconds to read one line of subtitling and 6 seconds to read two lines of subtitles. He provides rules for punctuation and letter case, such as how to use dashes. His fifth point addresses “target text editing.” He also provides seven altering syntactic structures. Lastly, he provides means of “cultural Transfer,” which is what Venuti would have called domestication. Karamitroglou’s rules were meant to be applied to subtitling in Europe, but much of his rules also apply to the spirit of Chinese subtitling norms as well. Svea Schauffler published a paper on the German subtitles of the short film Wallace and Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death. It was a “receptor-oriented, experimental study,” designed to “investigate the reception of two different strategies for subtitling English wordplay into German” (Schauffler, 2012, p. 229). The two different versions were shown to two separate German-speaking audiences. His findings were that “the function-oriented translation was received significantly better than the existing version which prioritized formal equivalence” (ibid., p. 242). Schauffler’s most significant discovery was that “adult-oriented humor and appeal were acknowledged and appreciated more if the translation approach was one of creative freedom and a focus on humor transfer” (ibid., p. 243). This is very much in line with standard audiovisual translation norms that emphasize domestication.. 12.

(19) In “A Comparison between Professional Subtitling and Fansubbing of Pitch Perfect,” Lin Kaichi (2019) conducted research on the distinct methodological differences existing between fansubs and prosubs. He applied skopos theory to argue that the goal of prosubs was to appeal to the norms of the target culture while the goal of fansubs was to retain as much of the source culture as possible. In other words, prosubs are more domesticating and fansubs are more foreignizing. Being a case study on a popular movie, Lin’s research is very much in line with mine; however, his research goal was simply to make a distinction between prosub and fansub translation methodologies, whereas this paper is more focused on providing a critical evaluation of the quality of both camps’ translations. In “How National Institutions Mediate the Global: Screen Translation, Institutional Interdependencies, and the Production of National Difference in Four European Countries,” Giselinde Kuipers (2015) investigated how institutions played roles in enforcing norms across four European countries: France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland. The result of interviews and surveys revealed that there existed a significant difference in norms across the countries and subsequently produced very different versions of the same product. Chang Jin-Wei (2014), another graduate of NTNU, examined the role subtitles play. He also observed how subtitles were influenced by the forever changing techno-cultural norms in his thesis “Through Time and Space: The Techno-Cultural Norms of Subtitling in Taiwan.” His study is based on a set of movies and shows starting in 1980 and ending in 2014. Masood Khoshsaligheh and Saeed Ameri (2014) investigated how taboo topics were dubbed in Iranian audiovisual content in their paper. They discovered that the translators had almost always toned down taboo language by either deleting the taboo topic, replacing source culture taboo with target culture non-taboo, or by employing a euphemism in place of the taboo. Being a more conservative society, the translators understandably “try to create an acceptable, target-oriented translation” (ibid., p. 42). Their ultimate goal is to “meet the expectations of. 13.

(20) the target society in terms of American dubbed movies, or the American AVT expectancy norms” (ibid., p. 42).. 2.2 Lit on Fansubs In “Fansubbing in China – with Reference to the Fansubbing Group YYeTs,” Wang Dingkun (2017) looked at fansubbing as a “social phenomenon in which fansubbing groups foster a nationwide culture of downloading” (ibid., p.166). He looks at how YYeTs strives to bring foreign audiovisual products to audiences in China and also focuses on the creativity of fansubs and how that creativity has influenced subtitling norms in mass media. His research is more extra-textual in nature with a focus on the role fansubbing plays in China and not a comparison between prosubs and fansubs. In one part of his paper, he provides examples of how fansubbers foreignize the translation and rely on captions to elucidate content that is impossible to translate effectively. One example he provides comes from the show Big Bang Theory. Several of the main characters are playing the board game Settlers of Catan, which is a strategy game including cards that represent natural resources such as “wood” and “sheep.” Resources are accumulated and spent to build things like roads and cities. Sheldon, one of the main characters often misses double entendres. When he tells his friends that he needs wood to build a road, they all start laughing because the word “wood” is slang for “erection.” Classical translation strategies have no hope of conveying the original meaning, and it is very important to translate it as it is the humor of the show that makes it worth watching. The fansubbers, however, provided explanatory notes: “wood” means “勃起的陰莖.” Hsueh Melody (2009) conducted a case study on the provocative HBO show Sex and the City. In her Master’s thesis on “Chinese Subtitles in Sex and the City,” she focused on translation problems existing in the official HBO DVD, spanning across four categories: “sexual acts, sex organs and body description, relationships and sexually-related words, and. 14.

(21) other translation problems of sexual language” (ibid., p. 2). She not only chronicled translation problems but also offered better methods for approaching content of a sexual nature, so as to produce a more riveting experience for those who are reliant on the subtitles for understanding. She discovered that the DVD subtitles were riddled with translation errors and a formulaic approach to dealing with certain words. For example, the word “relationship” was always translated as 「關係」. Often the result was awkward Chinese, which we call translationese. The word “relationship” in English often implies one of a romantic nature, but 「關係」 is a bit more vague. A good example is the sentence, “Charlotte’s not having a relationship, she’s having multiple orgasms” (ibid., p. 59). The DVD translators approach was, 「夏綠蒂有的是數不清的高潮//而不是一段關係」and Melody’s approach was, 「夏綠蒂有的是多種高潮//而不是一段戀情」(ibid., p. 59). Melody’s approach is much more specific and sounds more natural. She believed that the DVD translator’s one blanket approach to similar words is a great disservice to the ampleness of the Chinese language. There exist a multitude of expressions regarding the act of sex, such as「水乳交融」，「魚水之歡」，「在嘿咻」，「有一腿」. Melody admits that many of the issues with the DVD subtitles wouldn’t be classified as mistranslation errors but a failure to reach the tone of the ST or a failure to express the puns that make the show interesting. Melody’s solution to translating a pun is to put it in quotation marks. For example, the sentence, “I love the stock market. A room full of screaming, sweating men all trying to get it up” (ibid., p. 56). Clearly the “get it up” in the sentence is a reference to having an erection. The DVD translators rendered the sentence as 「我熱愛股市//一群男人在那裏揮汗使之攀升」(ibid., p. 56). This translation does not make a clear reference to having an erection, but Melody’s translation hints at it. “我熱愛股. 15.

(22) 市//一群揮汗的男人拼命讓它“起來”(ibid., p. 56)。She also criticized the DVD translators as being too direct with sexual terms. According to Melody, Chinese is a more conservative language than English and audiences will be shocked to see certain words on the screen, such as “pussy” 「陰部」. A good example sentence is, “You can lay your pussy on a table in front of one man…and still not know what he’s thinking,” which the DVD translators rendered as 「你可以把陰部給他看//卻還是弄不懂他在想什麼」(ibid., p. 54). She offers what she considers a more tactful way of translating the sentence, 「你可以脫光給他看//卻還是搞不懂他在想什麼」(ibid., p. 54). Her method translates the idea of nakedness rather than focusing on the one body part. Many of the issues that Melody had with the DVD translations coincide with my criticisms of the official HBO Game of Thrones DVD. I, also, found the formulaic way of dealing with certain words to be trying and often resulted in classic cases of translationese. However, I disagree with Melody in how she criticizes translations that she thinks are too direct. For example, “Sweetheart, it’s the first time in the history of Manhattan that women have had as much power as men, plus the equal luxury of treating men like sex objects” (ibid., p. 66). The DVD translators rendered the sentence as, [甜心，這是曼哈頓史上第一次//女人的權力跟男人一樣大//她們也相當富裕//能把男人當性玩物] (ibid., p. 66)。 Melody believes that directly translating “treating men like sex objects” is too startling, and offers the following sentence, 「這是曼哈頓史上第一次//女人的權力不下於男人//同樣可以享受特權//把男人滿足慾望」(ibid., p. 66). I don’t agree with Melody’s translation as it does not translate the feeling of the ST. It does not reach a level of fidelity. Julia Szu-Tu (2010) conducted a comparative analysis of “the translator(s) at Warner Bro. to those used by four major fan-sub groups in season one of Gossip Girl.” Her research reflects almost precisely what I discovered during my research. Namely that certain fansub. 16.

(23) groups on occasion outperformed professional subtitlers, but overall fansubs collectively made the most mistakes, with some fansub groups mistranslating simple sentences with hysterical inaccuracy. Fansub groups contained “the use of comments and zero-translation; a tendency toward domestication; and a higher translator visibility” (p. ii). Just a year after Melody published her thesis on Sex and the City, fansub quality improved quite a bit. Now ten years after Julia published her thesis on Gossip Girl subtitles, fansubs have yet improved again. It is safe to say that certain groups, such as YYeTs and Visionary Sub, have managed to create quality control measures. Julia mentions three more highly respected fansub groups 「伊甸園」、「破爛熊」、and「馨零風軟」. If this trend continues, professional translators will have to be more flexible in their translation strategies and more open-minded to what translation methods appeal most to audiences. Wu Yueh-cheng (2015) investigated the attitude of one Taiwanese audience to one particular Japanese drama in “Audience Acceptability of Professional Subtitles and Fansubs.” The nature of the thesis was quantitative and included questionnaires designed to discover the acceptability of fan translated subtitles versus that of professionally translated subtitles to that Taiwanese audience. His research is very much in line with mine; the main difference being that I applied a qualitative analysis approach to discover the success of fansubs and prosubs in Game of Thrones. Before conducting any research, he hypothesized that the audience of the show would tend to enjoy professionally translated subtitles as professional translators follow subtitling strategies that are proven to be more enjoyable. In the conclusion of his thesis, he summarized the following points: The results of the survey indicate that the audiences of Japanese drama in Taiwan actually prefer subtitles produced by amateur translators. Audiences prefer the addition strategy, foreignization strategy, and preservation of original contents of. 17.

(24) fansubs. They also agree with the translators to add editor’s notes and borrow original lexical items to translate in order to give them more knowledge of the source contexts. (2015, p. 72) Clearly, the participants of the survey were approaching the translated text from a place of learning rather than pure entertainment. He then went on to elaborate on his conclusion with a concession: However, the audiences of Japanese drama in Taiwan still prefer the simple and plain way to display the subtitles. They do not like the use of different fonts, colors, or special effects in the subtitles which could negatively affect their viewing experience. (ibid., p. 71) Therefore, his hypothesis regarding professional subtitling strategies as being more enjoyable was half right. “The professional subtitles could bring [the audience] a more enjoyable viewing experience while…the fansubbed version could convey the original contexts more” (ibid., p. 73). According to Venuti this would mean that these audience members placed more importance on the ST rather than the TT. They are willing to accept the peculiarities of a more literal translation strategy as it brings them closer to the author. They are very much like scholars rather than mere consumers. Their drive is to understand the essence of what makes the Source Text (the Japanese drama) compelling. This is to say that the content of the fansubs was more enjoyable, but the viewing experience of prosubs was actually higher than that of the fansubs. Wu Yueh-cheng also discussed the subtitling culture that exists between the amateur subtitlers and the professional subtitlers. He draws heavily on Lawrence Venuti’s (1995) The Translator’s Invisibility, in which Venuti discusses domestication and foreignization translation practices. He said that the norm of translation is to make the translator invisible. 18.

(25) and the more transparent the translator becomes the more successful the translation. He asserts, “translation is required to efface its second-order status with transparent discourse, producing the illusion of authorial presence whereby the translated text can be taken as the original” (ibid., p. 7). The translation enjoys its own viable independent status from the source text, and it is “judged by the same criterion—fluency” (ibid., p. 15). Venuti says that critics would consider a translation as successful “when there are no awkward phrasings, unidiomatic constructions or confused meanings” (ibid., p. 287). This sense of awkwardness is exactly what is referred to as translationese and will be investigated at length in the fourth chapter of this study. It is important to note that Venuti coined the term of the “invisible translator,” but did not condone it. He argued that the translated text should be foreignized— a self-conscious text that is a window into the source culture. He believed that this was the more ethical approach to translation, as it is too often the case that hegemonic powers will distort the meaning of the original. Hu Qizhen (2009) traced internet fansubbing to its source in his paper “Chinese Subtitle Groups and the Neoliberal Work Ethic” and also provided a methodology for researching fansub groups. He gives a history of the rise of fansubbing groups and comments on how the neoliberal work ethic and pro bono altruistic labor of fansubbing has created a new kind of labor value. Ultimately, the consensus among fansub and prosub research is that fansubs tend to apply a foreignization strategy while prosubs apply a domesticating one. Prosubs are also more likely to replace vulgar language with euphemisms while fansubs will faithfully translate the uncouth language.. 19.

(26) Chapter Three Game of Thrones in Taiwan and China 3.1 Author, Novel and Drama George. R.R. Martin was born on September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He has written both novels and short stories, including genres such as fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He worked as a writer/producer in Hollywood for ten years but left the industry in the mid-90s to pursue writing prose as a career. A Game of Thrones, his first book in the series A Song of Ice and Fire, was published in 1996, and his most recent novel, A Dance with Dragons, came out in 2011. To many fans’ dismay, the author has been slow coming in finishing his novels. Currently, five books have been published in the following order: A Game of Throne 1996; A Clash of Kings 1998; A Storm of Swords 2000; A Feast for Crows 2005; and A Dance with Dragons 2011. He is currently in the process of finishing the last two novels in the series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, but the author has yet to reveal a release date for the next volume. The HBO series Game of Thrones was inspired by Martin’s series and adapted and produced by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. According to Wikipedia, “HBO Productions purchased the television rights for A Song of Ice and Fire in 2007 and began airing…on April 17, 2011” (“George R.R. Martin,” n.d.). “The series premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011 and concluded on May 19, 2019, with 73 episodes broadcast over eight seasons” (“Game of Thrones,” n.d.). Though the TV show is based on the novels, it does not entirely follow the same plotline. The script used to compare subtitles in this thesis was retrieved from genius.com. English script links to season 8 episodes 1-6.5. 5. (1) https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-winterfell-annotated; (2) https://genius.com/Game-ofthrones-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-annotated; (3) https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-the-long-nightannotated; (4) https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-the-last-of-the-starks-annotated; (5) https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-the-bells-annotated; (6) https://genius.com/Game-of-thrones-the-ironthrone-annotated.. 20.

(27) 3.2 Game of Thrones Synopsis Set in the fictional realm of Westeros, nine families vie for the Iron Throne, an asymmetrical seat of power, forged from the swords of Aegon’s beaten foes. Clearly wielding supremacy over the land, leaves the monarch as uncomfortable as sitting on those very slabs of metal. Prior to the first episode, Robert Baratheon usurped the throne by defeating the Mad King’s son, Rhaegar Targaryen, at the Battle of the Trident, and subsequently staged a coup with the aid of the Lannister family. Jamie Lannister, then in command of the King’s Guard, slew Aegon Targaryen, running his sword through the king’s back, just as the king was demanding that everybody in the city be burned alive. Jamie’s actions saved a city but also blackened his name in perpetuity. He then opened the city gates of King’s Landing, letting the Lannister army enter to take control of the city. Jamie’s notorious deed earns him the epithet—Kingslayer. Robert then makes a political alliance by marrying Cersei Lannister and appointing Ned Stark as his Hand, which is the highest advisor to the current monarch. Ned assumes custody of The North, a cold region bordering The Wall, the most essential piece of defense against the ultimate enemy—Death. The dead, akin to zombies, are driven south by the White Walkers, a group of deadly, magical entities. These monsters of winter were abandoned in the cold as infants and then taken away to be twisted into necromancers through a black magic ritual. The beginning: At the invitation of Robert Baratheon, Ned stark visits the capital, King’s Landing, with his family in tow. Ned soon becomes aware of the King’s intentions to hunt down and execute the scion of Aegon Targaryen—Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen. Ned’s code of honor will not condone the King’s actions, causing a rift between himself and the king. Meanwhile, Cersei Lannister, who has no love for her husband, drugs the king’s wine before he goes off on a hunt. His senses dulled by the effects of the drugs, he meets his demise at the end of a boar’s tusks. Ned discovers the truth of Joffrey’s parentage, namely. 21.

(28) that he is Cersei and Jamie Lannister’s love child—a product of incest—and therefore, not a legitimate heir to the throne. On Robert’s death bed, he signs a new will naming Ned as regent until Joffrey comes of age. Out of good conscience, Ned warns Cersei that she must leave the city with her children as he doesn’t want their deaths on his hands, but she ignores his warning and, with the help of Littlefinger, has Ned arrested for treason. His daughters Arya and Sansa are put in a very dangerous situation, but Arya manages to escape and survive on her own in the streets of King’s Landing. Sansa is less fortunate and remains with the Lannister’s as a hostage. The Lannisters promise mercy for Ned if Sansa denounces her father’s actions, and being a good daughter, she agrees, but Joffrey, being an abhorrent sadist, reneges on his promise and proceeds with the execution. Both daughters watch as their father is beheaded in the square. With Ned gone, his eldest Robb is hailed as King in the North. A war enfolds between the Lannisters and the Starks. At the outset, the Starks secure a few victories and seem to be gaining momentum but are ultimately defeated by betrayal. During King Robb’s wedding ceremony, later dubbed the “Red Wedding,” the Starks are lulled into a false sense of security as they break bread with the Freys, a gesture that they are guests and would never come to any harm; however, Tywin Lannister promises Walder Frey rewards and clemency if he kills the Starks. Roose Bolton, a Stark bannerman assists Walter Frey in assassinating Robb Stark, his wife Talisa, his mother Catelyn Stark, and the main bulk of his men. Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen, the daughter of the Mad King, has been married to Drogo, the leader of the Dothraki by her brother Viserys. He aims to use the Dothraki to take back the throne. Drogo is unwilling to be Viserys puppet and kills Viserys by pouring molten gold over his head, a gesture that he has given Viserys a crown. Later, Daenerys comes to love Drogo, and even bears his child, but her fate was never to play second fiddle. The Dothraki are a chauvinistic warrior people and acknowledge might as right. Drogo is leader. 22.

(29) of his people because he is a mighty warrior. One day he is challenged by another Dothraki. Drogo, in his arrogance, allows his opponent to slash his chest during the swordfight as a display of his manliness. He easily dispatches his adversary, but his wound begins to fester. Daenerys, desperate to save her husband, begs the slave witch Miri Maz Durr to save him, but the witch warns her that a blood price must be paid in exchange for his life. Daenerys agrees to the terms but doesn’t know what she is offering. The witch takes the life of her unborn child in exchange. The Drogo that comes back is essentially an empty shell, a vegetable person. The Witch explains that the son of Drogo would only end up carrying out his father’s heinous acts and seems happy for her role in Drogo’s demise. Daenerys, succumbs to her rage and has the witch burned along with the body of her husband. She too stands in the flames of the fire with her dragon eggs. She remains unharmed and the dragons hatch due to the heat of the dragon fire. She then takes command of the Dothraki horde. Daenerys commands her troops through city after city, freeing slaves and garnering the sobriquet Breaker of Chains. Her main advisor is Ser Jorah Mormont, who originally was tasked with killing her at the behest of Robert Baratheon. Upon meeting Daenerys, Jorah turns from spy to advisor and even falls in love with her. The eighth and final season is rife with awkwardness. It begins with Daenerys’s army moving north to assist John Snow in combating the army of the dead. One of Daenerys’s dragons has already been killed and turned by the Night King, the leader of the White Walkers, and the army of the dead has toppled over the Wall. Although the northerners are aware that without Daenerys they would surely all die, they are still reluctant to acknowledge her as the rightful queen. After all, they made John Snow the King in the North just before his departure. Sansa is palpably vexed with the situation, but she can do nothing but temporarily accept Daenerys as queen. Every able-bodied man, woman, and child is preparing for the longest night. The blacksmiths are stoking the forges, churning out as many. 23.

(30) weapons made of dragonglass (one of the few materials that can kill the dead) as possible, while others are training in arms. Tormund and a few crows, the name used to refer to men of the Night Watch, return to Winterfell with news of the enemy’s immediate arrival. Jamie Lannister also arrives with more bad news, that his sister Cersei has reneged on her promise to protect the living and remains with her army at King’s Landing. This puts Tyrion in an awkward position as he vouched for his sister, believing that her pregnancy would make her fight for the living. Daenerys starts to doubt Tyrion’s judgment but is persuaded by Jorah Mormont that he is still the right man for the job. Bran tells everyone that the Night King will come for him and that he will act as a lure. He will wait in the Godswood to draw out the Night King. The dead attack that night and all seems lost as the enemy are too many, but just as the Night King reaches Bran, Arya stealthily jumps out from a place of hiding with a dragonglass dagger in hand and stabs him, effectively ending the battle. The Night King’s death triggers a chain reaction—all of the dead under his command drop to the snow as harmless piles of skeleton bones. Then another awkward event occurs: Bran reveals to Sam the truth of John’s parentage. Sam already knows the truth as he read about the secret wedding between Rhaegar Targaryen and Lisa Stark while perusing manuscripts at the Citadel, the highest institution of learning in the land. Sam relates the truth of John’s heritage, and John reluctantly relates the information to Daenerys, that he is in fact not a Snow, which is the last name given to illegitimate children, but rather a Targaryen and the last male legitimate heir to the throne. It also happens, that Daenerys is his biological aunt. This is the beginning of Daenerys spiraling paranoia. Varys, another one of her advisors who is filial only to the realm, starts to question Daenerys ability to lead Westeros into an era of peace and prosperity. He proposes that John be made king behind Daenerys back. Tyrion, ever faithful to Daenerys, informs her of Varys’ intentions. Daenerys is unable to accept dissent amongst her ranks and has Varys burned alive by one of her dragons.. 24.

(31) Daenerys turns south to face her last enemy—Cersei. En route, they are ambushed by Euron Greyjoy. During the assault, one of Daenerys dragons is killed, a large number of her army is squashed, and her assistant Missandei is taken captive. Daenerys demands her immediate release but Cersei refuses and has Missandei decapitated on the city walls in fullview of Daenerys’ army. Maybe the death of Missandei is the reason for Daenerys’ subsequent uncharacteristic decision to nuke the entire city, or maybe it is all the paranoia that has built up in her mind, finally reaching a breaking point, but regardless of the reason, it seems that Daenerys’s fate is to turn out exactly like her father, the Mad King. Cersei puts up a good front that she is determined to fight, but after a quick and decisive loss, she rings the bells of the Red Keep, signaling surrender. Up until the eighth season, Daenerys has been freeing slaves and standing up for the common folk, but now she becomes so blinded by her rage that she orders the death of not only Cersei, but every living soul in King’s Landing, despite the absolute surrender of the city. As Tyrion walks through the aftermath of the battle, he is beside himself with regret and in full view of Daenerys’s troops denounces her actions by quitting his position as Hand. He is imprisoned and soon to be executed. John goes to visit him, and they discuss Daenerys’s current state of mind. Tyrion urges John to do the unspeakable, arguing that Daenerys is not who they had expected her to be and not fit to be ruler of Westeros. John goes to visit Daenerys, still undecided how he will deal with the situation. In his embrace, the Dragon Queen reveals her plan to keep freeing all of the people of Westeros, which clearly means more violence. John’s code of honor forces him to do the ghastly thing—plunge his dagger into her side. Her last remaining dragon appears and, in its despair, melts down the iron throne with its fire. It then flies off with the queen’s body in its talons. John is imprisoned by the commander of Daenerys’s army, Grey Worm. The heads of all the main remaining families meet to decide the fate of Tyrion, John, and Westeros. Grey. 25.

(32) Worm demands that John be executed and Sansa demands that he be released. In the end, John is sent back to the Wall, and Bran the Broken is elected King. The episode ends with King Bran and his advisors engaged in a meeting over the fate of Westeros.. 3.3. GoT in Taiwan This thesis focuses on the eighth season of GoT, which in total contains six episodes. Fans of the show in Taiwan had to wait on tenterhooks until Monday at 9:00 AM for the newest episode to be unveiled, with the first episode airing on HBO Channel 65 on April 15th, 2019 and the finale on May 20th. Fans craving to watch the eighth season again had to wait until November 1st, 2019 for the official DVD to be released. The DVD subtitles were essentially a copy of those aired on TV with the occasional sentence or singular word altered. For example, if John were to say, “We have to protect the North,” the TV subtitles would be translated as, 「我們得守護北」 and the DVD subtitles would be rendered as 「我們得守護北方. Many Taiwanese people had mixed feelings about the show. One individual on a gossip chat group on BBS asked, 「冰與火之歌到底有啥好看的」, which translates roughly to “what is all the fuss about GOT?” (Book2381, 2015). This individual equated the show to an adult film and was always fast-forwarding. All of the people who answered her questions responded that her take on the show was right—it was just an adult film with a storyline. Almost all of the responses summed down to one thing, you could see breasts. For example, MaInOrz said, 「奶，尚恩賓，龍」, which translates to “boobs, the actor Sean Bean, and dragons” (ibid, 2015). Overall most people who responded to her post were not fans of the show. On another BBS gossip group, User Wardyal asked if Game of Thrones was worth watching. Wardyal had just finished watching The Witcher and enjoyed the style. All of the respondents were fans who enjoyed the show and said more or less the same thing, which user User Newschool concisely phrased as,「看前六季就好」, meaning “you only 26.

(33) need to watch the first six seasons” (Wardyal, 2019). The last two seasons were received the same as in other countries, namely that the show got progressively worse, with the eighth season completely spoiling the entire show. All TV subtitles were retrieved from 218 HBO Signature on September 28th and 29th, 2019 and all DVD subtitles were retrieved from the official HBO DVD (2019), which I rented from a DVD rental store in Gongguan, Taipei.. 3.4 GoT in China As most people are aware, China limits the number of foreign TV shows and movies that are aired. “Based on the US-China Bilateral World Trade Organization (WT) Agreement in 1999, China agrees to import 40 foreign films each year” (Zhang, 2013, p. 30). Even those that are aired are naturally doctored to suit the political agenda of the communist party, so any content that would paint the party in a negative light would necessarily be removed. “These movies are carefully selected, professionally dubbed and strictly reviewed by censors for cinemas (ibid, p. 30).” Another reason for these limits, according to the party, is to give domestically produced movies and TV shows a bit of an advantage. They understandably hope to foster homegrown productions, but many Chinese find those creations to be trite and devoid of entertainment value. “It has been widely acknowledged on internet forums that the plot themes of domestically produced TV dramas and movies are both monotonous and repetitive, with a narrow focus on historical stories, family relationships and romance” (ibid, p. 32). It is human nature to enjoy variety. Even when foreign films are aired in China, they are professionally dubbed with the communist agenda at heart; therefore, “any reference to sex or use of foul language in imported films may be removed, toned down or even rewritten” (ibid, p. 33). Game of Thrones was broadcasted in China on CCTV starting in 2014, but as mentioned above all sex scenes and violent scenes were removed. Mainland Chinese are also able to watch Game of Thrones on certain streaming video subscription. 27.

(34) websites, such as Tencent, iQiyi, and Youku; however, many audience members still find this professional style of translation very bothersome and will circumvent the state-imposed firewall in search of unedited versions online. This is where fansubs come into play. They give Chinese people access to the unedited foreign entertainment that is more varied and also ironically more accurate than the professionally translated subtitles. Fansubs act as a cultural bridge for Chinese people to better understand western ideas, fashion, etc. Another appeal of fansubs is the free factor. Many Chinese people are still quite poor and find the price of a movie ticket to be too expensive. “A good illustration is provided by Avatar in which the general price for a cinema ticket in China was around RMB 120 (approximately $18)” whereas “it costs only 1RMB per hour to use the internet, where fansubbed movies and dramas can be watched online or downloaded for free” (ibid, p. 33). Of course, this is the ethical dilemma of fansubs, as someone is losing out on potential revenue. The current literature on the topic of fansubbing deals mostly with the nature of Japanese anime and Japanese drama, or the significance fansubbing plays in China as a medium for cultural transfer in a highly restrictive socio-context. The fansubs typically created for Japanese drama and anime come from a long history of emphasizing the source text. This form of fansubbing includes translator glosses, commentary, and a wide variety of different fonts. Now, however, fansubbers seem to be adopting a strategy more akin to that of professional subtitlers. They put more of a focus on the Target Text than original fansubs might and provide virtually no glossing or commenting. There has been little research done on the quality of these more mainstream fansubbing in the literature much to the detriment of the field and that is the main contribution of this paper.. 28.

(35) Chapter Four Translationese or English-influenced Chinese 4.1 This chapter looks at instances when translators were overly influenced by the English Source Text and in translating too literally produced something both awkward and in some cases incomprehensible. In the field of translation, this translation failure is commonly referred to as translationese, which in this chapter will be will be divided into two types— semantic translationese and syntactic translationese. The first part of this chapter will focus on the former and the second part on the later, with the third part providing an overall evaluation of prosub and fansub success in regards to avoiding said English influenced translationese. All examples are listed in chronological order as they appeared in the ST.. 4.1 Semantic translationese Ex. 1 ST Euron: Am I most welcome here?. TV 這裡歡迎我嗎？. DVD 這裡歡迎我嗎？. ShinY 難道君臨不最歡迎我嗎. Fix 我是最受歡迎的嗎. Vision. 我在這兒真的受歡迎嗎. YYeTs 我也是座上賓嗎. In the first episode, Euron Greyjoy arrives in the capital with the Golden Company, a mercenary army, in tow. Upon speaking with Harry Strickland, the leader of the Golden Company, Cersei expresses her gratitude for their assistance and says that he is “most welcome.” The word “most” is usually used with an adjective to form a superlative adjective; however, less common is another meaning of the word--“very.” When the queen says that Strickland is “most welcome,” she doesn’t mean 「最受歡迎」, but rather something like 「誠摯歡迎」. Euron Greyjoy, who has intentions to bed the queen asks, “Am I Most Welcome here?” ShinY and FIX both directly translated the sentence respectively as 「難道 29.

(36) 君臨不最歡迎我嗎」and 「我是最受歡迎的嗎」. These two translations made a drastic mistake because they misunderstood the meaning of the ST and forced awkward Chinese on the TT. Both Prosubs and the unknown fansub translated the sentence respectively as, 「這裡歡迎我嗎」and「我在這兒真的受歡迎嗎」. These two translations convey the meaning of the ST sufficiently, but YYeTs provided the best translation with the sentence,「我也是座上賓嗎」. This translation conveys the sense of the original in the most natural way and avoids any symptoms of translationese.. Ex. 2 ST Davos: The Free Folk don't know her.. TV 自由民不認識她. DVD 自由民不認識她. ShinY 自由民對她一無所知. Fix 自由民也不了解她. Vision. 自由民不了解他. YYeTs 自由民不了解她. The word “know” can mean different things in different situations. In some contexts, it means 「認識」 as in, “I have heard about Tom Cruise, but I don’t know him.” In other contexts, it means 「了解」, such as in the sentence, “how can you judge me when you don’t really know me.” Often, the characters in the show that support Daenerys claim that the North Folk can’t accept her because they do not know her, such as in the first episode. The issue at hand doesn’t have to do with the Free Folk not being acquainted with Daenerys, but rather they do not understand what kind of person/ruler she is. As Ser Davos, Tyrion and Varys walk around Winterfell, they begin discussing Daenerys political challenge to win over the people of the North. Ser Davos says that the problem is, “They don’t know her. The Free Folk don’t know her.” Both prosubs made the mistake of translating the sentence as, 「他們不認識她／自由民不認識她」. All fansubs had the insight to translate the sentence as. 30.

(37) 「他們不了解她／自由民不了解她」. We know this is the correct translation because even if they were acquainted with the queen, they would still not trust her as they don’t know what she will do. This is an instance where having a thorough understanding of the series counts for more than being paid to translate.. Ex. 3 ST Sansa: No, she's much prettier.. TV 對，她漂亮多了. DVD. ShinY. Fix. 對，她漂亮多了. 當然她可漂亮多了. 不她更漂亮. Vision. 沒錯，她也更漂亮. YYeTs 是的她漂亮多了. The biggest conflict that develops in the first episode has nothing to do with the impending doom at the hands of the dead, but rather dealing with the political problems of the living. Sansa does not approve of Daenerys as Queen and is very disappointed with John for “bending the knee.” John argues that Daenerys is the queen that everyone needs while Sansa argues that Daenerys comes from a line of madness and can’t be trusted. John, always loyal to his queen and lover, says she isn’t her father, the Mad King. Sansa responds mockingly that John is correct because Daenerys “…is much prettier.” Both prosubs， ShinY and YYeTs all translated the sentence similarly as，「對，她漂亮多了」. This is the best translation as it emphasizes “much prettier.” FIX and the Visionary Sub translated the sentence as, 「她更漂亮」. This translation strategy fails because of a formulaic way of translating the comparative suffix “er” as 「更」. The result is a sentence that sounds very much like English-influenced Chinese. Saying that she is 「更漂亮」only means she is “prettier” but not “much prettier.” Not to mention it sounds like Sansa is saying Daenery’s. 31.

(38) father is pretty. This translation, therefore, fails to express the meaning of the ST on multiple levels.. Ex. 4. ST Sam: And your father your real father was Rhaegar Targaryen.. TV. DVD. ShinY. Fix. Vision.. YYeTs. 你真正的父親. 你真正的父親. 你的親生父親. 你的親生父親. 你的生父. 你的生父. 是雷加坦格利安. 是雷加坦格利安. 是雷加× 坦格利安. 是雷加× 坦格利安. 是雷加× 坦格利安. 是雷加× 坦格利安. At the end of episode one, Sam finds John walking through the crypt at Winterfell. Sam finally plucks up the courage to reveal who John’s parents are—Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. He tells John, “And your father, your real father was Rhaegar Targaryen.” Sam means that Rhaegar was his biological father. The prosubs directly translated the sentence as, 「你真正的父親／是雷加坦格利安」. The audience might understand the meaning of 「真正的父親」but an adopted father could also be argued as a “real father”. The prosub translations were influenced too much by the English. The fansubs translated the sentence in a way that is more standard in Chinese. ShinY and FIX translated it as, 「你的親生父親／是雷加×坦格利安」. The unknown fansub and YYeTs translated the sentence the same as, 「你的生父/是雷加×坦格利安」. All fansub translations were clearer than the prosubs and in this instance, the language used avoided being influenced by the ST.. 32.

(39) Ex.5 The word “about” is frequently used in English and is required in certain collocations, such as “I am talking about your constant neglect.” Removing the word “about” from the sentence would be very strange and grammatically incorrect. The nature of Chinese, however, is to dispense with prepositions. The sentence, “Don’t throw the ball at me” when translated into Chinese would be simplified as, 「不要丟我」. If we were to back translate, the sentence, it would appear as, “Don’t throw me;” the people speaking know which thing is going to be thrown and at whom, so both the direct object and preposition are omitted. Too often when translating from English to Chinese do translators directly translate the word “about” as 「關於」. The meaning of the two words is synonymous; however, the frequency of the English word “about” is much higher than that of the word 「關於」. ST Daenerys: He told me other stories as well. About all the things we would do to that man once we took back the Seven Kingdoms and had him in our grasp.. TV 皇兄還會說別的故事. DVD 他也有說別的故事. 計畫要如何報復殺父仇人. 講我們奪回七國. 首先是要奪回七大王國並搶之. 抓到那個人之後要對他做哪些事情. ShinY 他還給我講了其他的故事關於我們能對那個男人做的一些事情當我們奪回七大王國那個人任我們處置的時候. Fix 哥哥也給我講別的故事講我們會如何報復那個人…. Vision. 哥哥也會說別的故事. 一旦我們奪回七國將他抓獲. 只等收復七大王國. 關於我們對那個人的復仇. YYeTs 他還跟我講過其他故事講到等我們奪回了七國抓到那人後要如何處置他. 將仇人繩之以法. At the beginning of the second episode, Daenerys has received Jamie Lannister and is questioning him in front of the people of Winterfell. Daenerys, being a Targaryen, naturally. 33.